The sun dipped behind the Hokage Monument, turning the sky the color of dying embers. Evening settled over the village quietly—too quietly for the night fate had chosen.
Ethan felt it before anything happened.
The Panel pulsed a faint warning behind his ribs:
[NODE ANOMALY: Pre-Exam Emotional Instability — Target: Naruto]
Deviation Probability: 9% → 17%
Naruto had been tense all day, bouncing between defiance and insecurity. Even his usual grin wavered around the edges.
Ethan had seen it coming.
But he hadn't expected the trigger to arrive so fast.
---
Mizuki Makes His Move
Ethan sat outside the Academy building, legs dangling off the steps, waiting for Naruto like always. The courtyard was empty except for drifting leaves and fading light.
Footsteps approached.
Not Naruto.
Too light for Iruka.
Too controlled for a villager.
Mizuki stepped into view, smiling a little too pleasantly.
"Ethan. Still here?"
"…Waiting for Naruto," Ethan replied.
"Good. Good. He'll need friends tonight."
Ethan's eyebrows twitched.
The tone was wrong—sweet but sharp, a blade wrapped in cotton.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ethan asked.
Mizuki leaned down slightly, voice dropping.
"Just keep an eye on him. He'll be carrying something important."
Panel warning flared.
[Intent Assessment: Hostile Manipulation Detected]
[Risk Target: Uzumaki Naruto]
[Advise: Observe but avoid premature interference — timeline-critical event]
Mizuki didn't wait for a reply.
He strode away, but Ethan caught the flick of satisfaction in his step.
Naruto burst out of the school doors minutes later, breathless and wild-eyed.
"Ethan! I… I gotta go! Can't talk!"
Before Ethan could ask anything, Naruto sprinted off into the shadowed streets, heading straight for the Hokage Residence.
Ethan stood.
This was it.
The night Naruto was tricked into stealing the Forbidden Scroll.
---
The Theft
Ethan followed at a distance—silent, masked in the Panel's stealthy presence field.
Naruto was fast, but Ethan's training from HxH + Bleach + movement drills made trailing him effortless.
Naruto scaled the wall of the Hokage Residence like a squirrel possessed.
"Oy oy oy…" Ethan whispered. "You are NOT subtle."
But stealth didn't matter.
Mizuki had cleared Naruto's path.
Naruto slipped inside, moving with the earnest, chaotic determination only he possessed.
Ethan positioned himself on a nearby rooftop.
He watched Naruto disappear behind a storage door.
Five minutes later—
Naruto emerged.
The Forbidden Scroll of Seals—massive, unmistakable—strapped across his back.
His grin was nervous, excited, confused.
"Okay… now I just gotta find a quiet place… and learn a super jutsu!"
He leapt into the trees and vanished.
Ethan exhaled.
It had begun.
---
Ethan Makes His Choice
The Panel chimed softly:
[KEY TIMELINE ARTIFACT DETECTED]
Forbidden Scroll of Seals
— Contains high-risk techniques
— Does not qualify for Taming
— But CAN be digitally duplicated into Host Archive at reduced fidelity
New Option Unlocked:
[Copy Technique Scroll]
Cost: 0 PP
Limitations: Cannot produce original jutsu seals; creates safe, non-destructive conceptual replicas.
Ethan's breath stilled.
This was unprecedented.
> Copy the scroll… without touching it.
Without altering its role in the canon event.
Without affecting Naruto.
"…I can do it," Ethan whispered.
And he should.
The Scroll contained the Multi Shadow Clone, yes—but also dangerous things.
Better Ethan know what exists.
Better he track it.
Better he understand it.
He followed Naruto's trail until he reached the abandoned training cabin deep within the forest.
Naruto was inside, panting, unfurling the scroll that was larger than his whole body.
He muttered:
"Okay… so… Shadow… Clone…?"
Ethan stayed hidden, pressed in the dark rafters like a ghost.
Now.
He focused.
Taming Space wasn't meant for objects, but the Panel's new function was.
He directed intent.
The scroll glowed faintly in Ethan's vision—outlined by the Panel's overlay.
A quiet, non-physical voice spoke:
[Copying…]
[Extracting technique signatures…]
[Sealing into Host Archive…]
Lines of chakra formula flickered in the air—visible only to Ethan.
After ten tense seconds:
[Scroll Copy Complete]
New entries appeared:
• Shadow Clone Jutsu — FULL schema
• Four additional jutsu — FRAGMENTARY schema
• Summoning Contract Theory — ABSTRACT
• Seal Matrix Structures — NON-ACTIVE BLUEPRINTS
Ethan blinked.
"…This is insane."
The Panel answered with a soft hum, like it was pleased with itself.
Naruto, oblivious, was sweating buckets as he tried to split one clone into existence and faceplanted instead.
"Ugh—WHYYY IS THIS SO HARD?!"
Ethan smiled faintly.
He wanted to help him.
But the timeline hadn't reached that moment yet.
---
Iruka Arrives — And So Does Trouble
Ethan sensed it before he heard it:
Heavy footsteps.
Desperate breathing.
Leaves snapping under urgent weight.
Iruka.
He burst into the clearing moments later.
"NARUTO! What have you done—?!"
And from behind the trees…
A colder presence slid into place.
Mizuki.
With a shuriken the size of a cart wheel on his back.
Ethan's fingers curled.
It had begun.
The confrontation that would define Naruto's future.
And Ethan stood hidden in the trees—
watching the canon moment align like falling dominoes—
armed with knowledge the world shouldn't have.
But ready to intervene if the timeline snapped.